Arjuna Capital Purchases 15,960 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital significantly increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 443.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 15,960 shares, bringing its total holdings to $1,567,000.
• Johnson Controls reported $1.05 EPS in its recent quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.99, with revenues also exceeding estimates at $6.05 billion.
• The company has approved a $9.00 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 13.4% of its shares, indicating the board believes the stocks are undervalued.

Arjuna Capital grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 443.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,561 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,960 shares during the quarter. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,444,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,483,104,000 after acquiring an additional 288,576 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,690,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,623 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,168,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,887,000 after acquiring an additional 777,031 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,988,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,705,000 after acquiring an additional 59,001 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,741,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,593,000 after acquiring an additional 317,266 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on JCI. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of JCI stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, hitting $105.40. The company had a trading volume of 6,227,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,666,734. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $105.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $112.63.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value of $147,447.18. Following the sale, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

Johnson Controls International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific, and Global Products.